<p>New member here. Also, long post ahead.</p>
<p>I will be a sophomore in college in the fall and I'm in the process of changing my major. I've done a lot of research and have talked to the academic advisors in the departments with the majors I'm interested in. After giving it quite a bit of thought I have narrowed down my options to pursue a degree in Geology or Materials Science and Engineering. Now, I'm having a lot of trouble deciding which major fits my career goals the best.</p>
<p>I like geology because I am very interested in mineralogy and petrology. I would like to do research in mineralogy someday even if the jobs are hard to come by. I'm more than willing to get a master's and a doctorate degree. I'm planning on doing some undergraduate research so I have a better chance of doing professional research later on. GIS is also something I am looking into. I'm hesistant on choosing geology as my major because I will have to take classes like structural geology and surficial processes which don't seem very interesting. Also, the idea of a seven week long field camp during the summer of my junior years is a little offputting because it would take away time for me to do an internship, research, and/or take classes. Geologists also can work a lot outside depending on what they do and who they work for. Even though I like being outside, I would not enjoy working in freezing or rainy conditons unless the work I do is very fascinating. Many of the entry-level jobs I've been looking at don't spark me as interesting enough for me to work in those conditions. I should probably be more optimistic and less picky, but I don't want to be miserable either.</p>
<p>Now for materials science and engineering. The program at my school allows me to specialize in two materials: metals, ceramics, electronics, polymers, and a proposal based specialization that consists of three upper level courses from any science and engineering department as well as math. I'm interested in the different types of materials, but I'm mostly interested in ceramics. Some of the topics in ceramics such as the optical and chemical properties would seem similar to what I would learn in mineralogy, which is a plus. My other specialization would be the proposal based specialization based around earth materials or something so I can take mineralogy and petrology as a couple of my main courses as long as my proposal passes within the committee that approves it. I also have free techinical electives I can use them for if the proposal doesn't pass. If anything else I could do a geology minor, but the remaining courses I would need to take would be the lower level introductory and general geology classes that probably wouldn't be too beneficial. They are supposed to serve as a preparation for the more advanced topics, but I was told I can start taking mineralogy right away. The reason I'm hesistant on materials science and engineering is learning the general mechanical topics I'll probably have to do. Also, I'm more of a science guy rather than engineering, but materials seems more like science than engineering, and I'm sure I can handle the engineering topics fine.</p>
<p>I guess what I'm trying to ask is what major would be best if I wanted to pursue a career that involved mineralogy and earth materials. If I did geology, I'll have probably have more knowledge in mineralogy and petrology and additonal knowledge such as the environmental factors that affect them, but I'll be cluttered with classes like structural geology and sedimentology. If I did materials science and engineering, I'll probably have less direct knowledge of mineralogy, but I'll have knowledge in materials that I can apply to mineralogy. I know I'm going to be making the decison in the long run, but any insight including professional advice is greatly appreciated. Even if I can't pursue mineralogy as a career both majors have enough applications I'm interested in so I can find something else. I apologize if this post is too long, but I have a lot on my mind right now concerning this and I should probably make a decision soon.</p>